“How to maximize the impact of mobile marketing?”

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“How to maximize the impact of mobile marketing?”

The influence of mobile marketing on brand equity

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Master Thesis

MSc Marketing Management

University of Groningen

Faculty of Economics and Business, Marketing

“How to maximize the impact of mobile marketing?”

The influence of mobile marketing on brand equity by Mart Vlutters Poelestraat 5a 9711 PG Groningen The Netherlands +31 (0) 6 31996423 m.vlutters@student.rug.nl

Completion date: December 16th_{,
2013}

Supervisor: Drs. J. Berger

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MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of mobile marketing and its unique features on the customer-‐based brand equity. Mobile marketing is an emerging topic of interest to both academics and practitioners (Shankar & Balasubramanian, 2009) and it has a lot of potential (Varnali & Toker, 2010). In addition, mobile marketing has some unique features in comparison with traditional marketing channels. However, it was not clear what the exact impact of these marketing efforts was and how the impact of mobile marketing could be maximized (Bellman et al., 2011).

To answer the research question a literature study was performed about the unique features of mobile marketing. Reason for this is that mobile marketing is a relative new topic in the academic literature and therefore there is still no agreement about the unique features of mobile marketing (Varnali & Toker, 2010; Leppaniemi et al, 2006). Based on the literature review, five unique features of mobile marketing were identified: ubiquity (instant-‐connectivity), localization, personalization, interactivity and enjoyment. To investigate the impact of these features of mobile marketing, the customer-‐based brand equity model was used to evaluate the brand-‐building activities (Aaker, 1996). Three different components were distinguished to determine the brand equity: brand awareness/brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. In this study six different hypotheses were formulated, for the first five hypotheses a positive relationship was expected between one of the unique feature of mobile marketing and brand equity. In the last hypothesis a moderating effect of the factor usage frequency was expected in the relationship between the attributes of mobile marketing and brand equity.

In this research a conclusive research design was used, based on large representative samples collected by means of a questionnaire and the data subjected to a quantitative analysis. The hypotheses were tested with multiple regression analyses.

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PREFACE

With this thesis I am finishing my Master Marketing Management at the University of Groningen. Moreover, completing my thesis also means the last step in my life as a student. A period in my life where I have learned a lot during my study, but also a period where I got the chance to develop myself as a person. With as absolute highlights of my time as student, the semester abroad at the State University of New York Geneseo in 2008, and the participation in International Business Research Vietnam 2013. Due to IBR Vietnam my thesis was interrupted for four months, however during this program I got the chance to bring theory into practice, which was definitely a very useful and great experience. I have enjoyed my study and my time in Groningen the fullest and I am very grateful to the University of Groningen for all the opportunities they have provided. With a lot of motivation and ambition I am looking forward to the next step in my career.

A special word of thanks goes out to my supervisor Drs. J. Berger for the help and feedback at any time during the research. Also, I want to thank my external supervisor S.F.M. Beckers for his suggestions in finalizing my thesis.

Lastly, I would like to thank my family, my girlfriend and my friends for their support and motivation during the writing of this thesis. Especially, I would like my parents for their unconditional support and the opportunities they gave me during my study time.

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1. INTRODUCTION

Anno 2013, almost 72% of the Dutch population between the 12-‐80 is using a smartphone1_{.
In
the
train,} during work-‐time, and even in restaurants you see people using their mobile phone everywhere and at all times; texting with friends, listening to music, finding the nearest shop, checking the latest news or playing games. People cannot imagine a life without their smartphone anymore. The frequent use of the mobile device has led to the mobile lifestyle in which consumers routinely use mobile devices for several activities, including communicating with others, searching information, conducting transactions, and managing daily schedules (Shankar et al., 2010). A research of Mobilthinking in 2012, showed that 94% of the customers do research for a brand or product on a smartphone, 28% make a purchase on a smartphone and 22% change minds about buying in-‐store as a result of searching on their mobile phone2_{.
These
results
show
that
the
usage
of
smartphones
and
the
different
ways
customers
are
using} their smartphone influences customer behavior.

The changes in customer behavior due to the use of smartphones have ensured that brands and companies adapt their strategy to these developments. The Mobile Marketing Monitor 2012, a research concerning the top 500 advertisers in the Netherlands performed by Mobile Marketing Nederland, showed that around 60% of these companies has a mobile site, almost 50% has its own mobile application and around 40% uses mobile display advertising3_{.
Besides
that,
in
the
near
future
the} numbers of these marketing tools are expected to increase at least by 20%. Moreover, 23% of these companies already integrated mobile marketing into their marketing mix, and 65% of these companies are planning to do this in the near future. These facts highlight the increasing attention companies are paying to mobile marketing.

The fact that smartphones are becoming increasingly important in people’s daily life will provide marketers with new challenges and opportunities (Persaud & Azhar, 2012; Barutcu, 2007).

In addition

, also the continuous and fast improvements in the mobile technology provide marketers with new

1_{http://www.dutchcowboys.nl/tag/smartphone}

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opportunities. The Mobile Marketing Association (2008) 4_{defines
Mobile
Marketing
as
‘’a
set
of} practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network’’. In the academic literature, opinions regarding this definition are widespread, since based on this definition one has to conclude that, in addition to mobile phones, tablets belong to this category. Mobile marketing can be characterized by unique features in comparison to the traditional marketing channels, therefore it is relevant to research the impact of these attributes on a brand. Even though marketing regarding tablets also entail some of these advantages in comparison to traditional marketing channels, there are important differences between the features of tablets and the features of smartphones. This is because some of the unique aspects of mobile marketing are only applicable for smartphones and not for tablets. The literature regarding these unique features is currently fragmented and inconsistent, due to the identification of a variety of key features and unique value propositions of a mobile medium. In 2010, Varnali and Toker

organized and classified the literature on mobile marketing of the past years in a ‘state-‐of-‐the-‐art’ article. The following features have been identified as the driving and impending forces of mobile-‐ commerce; ubiquity (instant connectivity), convenience, personalization, localization, flexibility, spontaneity, immediacy, accessibility, and time-‐criticality. Here you see that aspects as ubiquity, instant-‐ connectivity, personalization, and flexibility are not applicable to tablets. Since tablets are often dependent on WIFI networks for their connectivity, it is not possible for customers to receive information or perform transactions wherever they are or whenever they want, while a smartphone generally is instantly connected. Moreover, people take their smartphone wherever they go and this is not always the case for tablets. Besides, a smartphone is a highly personal device, which provides the opportunity for one-‐to-‐one marketing, while a tablet is often used by multiple persons. For these reasons, this research rather focuses on mobile marketing through mobile phones.

Furthermore, this research will only focus on branded applications (from this point on referred to as apps) as part of mobile marketing. Branded apps can be defined as software downloadable to a mobile device that prominently displays a brand identity, throughout the user experience (Hutton & Rodnick, 2009). This brand identity is often exposed via the name of the app and the appearance of a brand logo or icon. Bellman et al. (2011) added to this definition that in contrast to other forms of advertising, branded apps are welcomed as “useful,” which suggests that they may be one of the most powerful forms of advertising yet developed. Branded apps often contain an extra service for the

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customers that supports the brand and hence adds value to the brand. The reason to focus on branded apps lies in the fact that, according to a research form TNS Nipo (2012), smartphone users spend on average 42 minutes to online activities via mobile apps and mobile websites. However 95 percent of these 42 minutes is used for mobile apps and only 5 percent for mobile websites5_.

As previously mentioned, mobile marketing is becoming increasingly important and it has some key features compared with the traditional marketing channels. However, the exact influence of these marketing efforts on the brand is unclear. In addition, the impact of the unique features of mobile marketing on the effectiveness of mobile marketing has not been researched. Okazaki & Talor (2008) conducted a survey of 53 senior executives of multinational corporations and found that brand building is the strongest positive driver of intention in the use of mobile advertising. Pousttichi & Wiedemann (2006) concluded that mobile marketing was mainly used for building brand awareness, changing brand image, and enhancing brand loyalty. In order to investigate the influence of mobile marketing for a brand, the concept of customer-‐based brand equity can be used. According to Keller (1993): “customer-‐ based brand equity consists of the marketing effects uniquely attributable to a brand.” In other words, brand equity can explain the different outcomes from the marketing of a branded product or service in comparing with a product or service that is not branded. Reason for the different outcomes concern the “added value” that is given to a certain product by means of the marketing efforts of the brand in the past. One of these marketing activities, which can add value to a brand, is mobile marketing. Therefore, it is relevant to investigate the influence of mobile marketing on the brand equity.

Rapid proliferation of business potential of mobile marketing attracts researches from various fields to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the topic of mobile marketing (Varnali & Toker, 2010). In their research Varnali & Toker (2010) indicated further that although the literature on this topic is accumulating, the stream of research is still in the development stage, inconsistent and fragmented. This means that there is a need for further academic research on this topic. The themes can be categorized by articles about mobile marketing strategy, mobile marketing tools and applications, the acceptance & adoption of mobile marketing, mobile marketing satisfaction & loyalty, the role of trust in mobile marketing, attitudes toward mobile marketing and the perceived value & value creation in mobile marketing (Varnali & Toker, 2010). One of the problems in the existing literature regarding mobile marketing is that it is often based on mobile marketing practices using the classic mobile phone,

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with very limited capability, compared to today’s smartphones, which have almost unlimited potential (Persaud and Azhar, 2011).

Currently, research is being conducted on the impact of SMS advertising on customer-‐based brand equity (Smutkupt et al., 2012) and also about the relationship between mobile value-‐added services and customer-‐based brand equity (Wang & Li, 2012). In the research of Wang & Li (2012) some of unique features of mobile marketing as personalization, ubiquity, perceived enjoyment and location-‐ based services were identified, however an essential feature of mobile marketing, interactivity, was missing and the other features was defined in another way. In the second chapter this will be discussed in more detail. Another important difference compared to the research of Wang & Li (2012) is that this research will be focused on the influence of mobile marketing on the customer-‐based brand equity as part of the marketing mix of a brand, by means of branded apps that offer an extra service to the customer to support the brand. This while in the research of Wang & Li (2012) the impact of the unique features of the mobile value-‐added service is measured on the customer-‐based brand equity of this service itself. In other words, in this research the influence of the branded apps on the customer-‐based brand equity of the brand is measured, while in their research the influence is measured on the customer-‐based brand equity of the service itself.

Furthermore, Bellman et al. (2011) found that using branded apps has a positive persuasive impact, since it increases the interest in the brand and also the interest in the brand’s product category. In the same research Bellman et al. (2011) suggest that further research must be conducted regarding understanding how to maximize the impact of branded apps. This is because at the moment companies are investing a lot of funds in mobile marketing and especially branded apps to go along with the mobile marketing trend. However, it is not clear what the impact is from mobile marketing on the different components of customer-‐based brand equity.

1.1 Problem statement

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components of brand equity. Hence, the most effective features can be identified to influence the customer-‐based brand equity with mobile marketing.

Moreover, this study contributes in several ways to the existing literature in the field of mobile marketing. The potential of mobile marketing in marketing makes it important to do research in this field. Especially because mobile marketing is a relatively new topic in the academic literature, there is still no agreement about the unique features of mobile marketing (Varnali & Toker, 2010; Leppaniemi et al, 2006). In the current study, a literature review will be conducted to identify and organize the different unique features of mobile marketing. Subsequently, the current research will investigate the influence of these unique features on the customer-‐based brand equity to see how the impact of mobile marketing can be maximized, which was identified by Bellman et al. (2011) as a key topic for future research. As mentioned before this research will only focus on branded apps as part of mobile marketing. To the best knowledge of the author there is no similar study previously done in this context. Therefore the problem statement is defined in the following way:

‘What is the impact of mobile marketing and its unique features on the customer-‐based brand equity?’

1.2 Structure of this Thesis

The structure of this study is as follows: the second chapter contains a theoretical framework, resulting in hypotheses and in a corresponding conceptual model. After that, in the third chapter the research design will be discussed including the method of research, data collection and a plan of analysis. Next, in the fourth chapter the results of the analyses will be presented and hypotheses will be tested. Finally,

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2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Mobile Marketing

Currently there is a growing amount of literature on mobile marketing, a common agreement on its definition though is still lacking (Varnali & Toker, 2010; Leppaniemi et al, 2006). Mobile marketing is primarily interactive in nature and includes mobile advertising, promotion, customer support, and relationship-‐management initiatives (Ancarani & Shankar, 2003). According to Shankar & Balasubramanian (2009) mobile marketing could be described as two-‐ or multi-‐way communication and promotion of an offer between a firm and its customers using the mobile medium, device or technology. Kaplan (2012) defined mobile marketing as any marketing activity conducted, through a ubiquitous network, to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device. The Mobile Marketing Association (2008) used another definition in form of a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network. In this research the definition of Leppaneimi et al. (2006) is used; “The use of the mobile medium as a means of marketing communication”. This is because it involves communication which is an important part of any marketing strategy, and mobility which allows communication to be conducted without the restriction of being at a fixed location at a certain point of time (Smutkupt et al., 2010).

2.2 Characteristics of Mobile Marketing

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(2010) organized and classified the literature on mobile marketing in a ‘state-‐of-‐the-‐art’ article and they found the following key features and unique value propositions of the mobile medium; ubiquity, convenience, personalization, localization, flexibility, spontaneity, immediacy, accessibility, time-‐ criticality and instant connectivity.

As can be seen, several characteristics of mobile marketing are specified in previous research on mobile marketing. This research, however, will only focus on the unique features of mobile marketing in comparison with traditional marketing channels and features which are most supported in previous research. As indicated in the article of Persaud & Azhar (2012), location-‐based mobile marketing is quite different from traditional marketing, because of the personal, ubiquitous, highly interactive and context specific attributes. In other words, mobile marketing can be distinguished from traditional marketing channels based on the unique features personalization, ubiquity, interactivity and localization. Choi et al. (2008) supported this view and recognized the same features as the unique attributes that make m-‐ commerce superior to e-‐commerce. Since this research is focused on the unique features of mobile marketing the following characteristics will be adopted from Smutkupt et al. (2010); ubiquity, personalization, interactivity and localization. However, the characteristic enjoyment will be added to the unique characteristics of mobile marketing, which was distinguished by Wang & Li (2011) as one of the key value proposition attributes of mobile value-‐added services. In order to support these findings an extensive literature review is done about the different features of mobile marketing. It can be concluded that a lot of evidence has been found for the attributes that make mobile marketing unique, which can be seen in Figure 1. The literature review is partly based on the article of Varnali and Toker (2010), however complemented with new and missing articles about these features.

Attribute Also mentioned as Definition Literature Ubiquity Untethered/wireless

feature,

accessibility, instant connectivity,

immediacy,

The ability of users to receive

information and perform

transactions wherever they are and whenever they want (Clark, 2001)

Koranteng (2001); Shankar &

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Figure 1: Literature study about the unique features of mobile marketing.

In addition to the above-‐mentioned features, other attributes of mobile marketing are indicated in the literature, which are not taken into account for different reasons. Shankar & Balasubramaian (2009) for example indicated portability as one of these attributes. According to them portability can be described as the ease with which the device can be carried with. Since the advantages of portability as that it is always with the customer will be covered by the feature ubiquity, this feature will not be used in the research framework. Also, the characteristic immediacy, described as the ability to acquire Localization Location-‐sensitivity,

location awareness, location specificity.

Localization gives the opportunity to provide optimized information or services to users based on their locations and preferences (Junglas & Watson, 2008).

Varshney & Vetter (2002); Scharl et al. (2005); Smutkupt et al. (2010); Shankar & Balasubramaian(2009); Zhou & Lu( 2011); Persaud &

Azhar(2012); Kourouthanassis & Giaglis(2012) Personalization Customization The mobile device is highly personal

and rarely used by anyone except its owner (Bauer et al., 2005) and therefore gives the opportunity to one-‐to-‐one marketing, collect information from them (Shanker et al., 2010) which can be an important tool for CRM (Sinisalo et al., 2007)

Koranteng (2001); Scharl et al. (2005); Sinisalo, et al. (2007); Smutkupt et al., (2010); Vatanparast & Butt(2010); Smutkupt, et al. (2012); Wang & Li (2012) Interactivity Two-‐way communication, speed of communication

The Mobile device allow for a greater two-‐way communication than any other tool because of their always on connectivity and sort set up times (Schierholz et al., 2007) and therefore can be used in CRM (Sinisalo et al., 2007)

Koranteng (2001); Sinisalo et al. (2007); Smutkupt et al. (2010); Vatanparast & Butt (2010); Smutkupt et al. (2012)

Enjoyment Entertainment, play The extent to which the activity of using the technology is seen as enjoyable in its own right, apart

from any performance

consequences that may be anticipated (Nysveen et al., 2005)

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information and services in real time, was indicated by Zhou & Lu (2011). However, since the definition from Clarke (2001) is used for ubiquity, also immediacy will be covered by ubiquity.

The research by Wang and Li (2012) on the relationship between the mobile value-‐added services and the core factors of brand equity also showcased the dimensions usability and identifiability. Usability consisted in their opinion of three key features: ubiquity, location-‐awareness and convenience. For the attribute convenience the same applies as the feature portability, the advantages of this attribute will be covered in this research by ubiquity. Furthermore, it makes sense to differentiate location-‐awareness and ubiquity, since these features have different functions. Because of location-‐ based services, information can be proved based on the current location, which is not possible only because of ubiquity. Also identifiability, which refers to the ability to recognize the identity of a user through a mobile, is indicated in this research. In this research, identifiability will be covered by personalization, due to the personal nature of the mobile device one-‐to-‐one marketing is possible.

2.3 Brand equity

One of the most popular and potentially important marketing concepts to arise in the 1980s concerned the concept of brand equity (Keller 2008). According to Keller (2008), the introduction of this concept has meant both good news and bad news for marketers. The good news is that brand equity has

recognized the meaning of the brand in marketing strategy and therefore a topic of interest was created to both academics and practitioners. The bad news was that because of this emerging topic of interest the concept has been defined in several ways and for different purposes. Keller (2008), however, mentioned that most observers agree that brand equity consists of the marketing effects uniquely attributable to a brand. Brand equity can be discussed in the perspective of the investor, the manufacturer, the retailer or the consumer. Investors have a financial motivation for extracting the value of a brand name from the value of a firm’s other assets. Manufactures and retailers, on the other hand, are motivated more by strategic implications of brand equity (Keller, 1993). However, none of this is meaningful if the brand has no meaning to the customer. In other words, there is value to the

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The brand equity concept has different dimensions that determine the brand equity. Shocker & Weitz (1988) proposed brand loyalty and brand associations, while Keller (1993) suggested brand knowledge, brand awareness, and brand associations. In general two groups can be distinguished within the literature of brand equity: those that involve consumer perceptions (e.g. awareness, brand associations, perceived quality) and those involving customer behavior e.g. brand loyalty, willingness to pay a high price). However Aker (1991), is one of the few authors to incorporate both the attitudinal and behavioral dimensions in his definition (Cobb-‐Walgren et al., 1995). Aaker (1991) distinguished loyalty, perceived quality, associations and awareness as the dimensions of brand equity, which is the most commonly cited definition of customer-‐based brand equity (Tong & Hawley, 2009). Besides that, there are some advantages to combining both consumer perceptions and actions into a single marketing measure brand equity. It is well documented that attitudes only are a poor predictor of marketplace behavior. On the other hand, consumer perceptions are a clearly precursor to behavioral manifestations (Cobb-‐Walgren et al., 1995) so a combination of both perceptions will be favorable.

For the measurement of customer-‐based brand equity, Yoo & Donthu (2001) developed and validated a multidimensional consumer-‐based brand equity scale drawn from Aaker’s and Keller’s conceptualization of brand equity. They found evidence that brand association and brand awareness should be combined into one dimension, while these dimensions were differentiated by Aaker (1991). They developed a new brand equity scale that is reliable, valid, parsimonious, and generalizable across several cultures and product categories with the dimensions brand loyalty, perceived quality and brand awareness/brand association. Besides that, the combination of attitudinal and behavioral dimensions are still used in this model. Therefore, this study will utilize the brand equity model of Yoo & Donthu (2001) to investigate the influence of the characteristics of mobile marketing on the brand equity.

2.4 Influence of the features of mobile marketing on brand equity

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personalization, interactivity and enjoyment. The influence of these attributes on brand equity will be discussed in more detail below.

2.4.1 Ubiquity

Ubiquity is a primary advantage of the mobile medium and can be described as the ability of users to receive information and perform transactions wherever they are and want (Clark, 2001). Such ability can be realized due to the fact that a mobile device is portable and is switched on most of the time. Today, people do not leave home without their mobile phones, and usually do not leave them unattended (Smutkupt et al., 2010). Since a mobile phone is always with the customer, the channel provides marketers with almost permanent opportunities to directly reach potential customers. Furthermore, ubiquity also enables the opportunity for customers to do research about a product, company or brand on their mobile phone at any time and any place. Since, ubiquity is unique in mobile marketing this feature can have a positive influence on the brand equity.

Also ubiquity enables the firm to quickly respond to unforeseen situations with new promotions or offers (Schierholz et al., 2007; Barwise & Strong). This feature was earlier recognized by Watson et al. (2002), who mentioned that value is added by the replication, updating and integration of processes independent of time and place. Pousttichi et al. (2003) mentioned that ubiquity in mobile marketing can improve the efficiency and flexibility for the customers and that in this way value is created. In other words, mobile marketing improves the efficiency and the flexibility in the interaction with a brand for the customer. Hence, you may assume that this unique attribute in mobile marketing will directly influence the perceived quality for the customer and therefore also influence the brand equity.

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marketing, someone can obtain the information on the way when he or she needs it, instead of getting the information when finally home. Since ubiquity creates value for the customer the following hypothesis is assumed:

Hypothesis 1: The degree of ubiquity in mobile marketing has a positive influence on the brand equity.

2.4.2 Localization

In addition to ubiquity, localization is distinguished as one of the unique characteristics of mobile marketing. Localization gives the opportunity to provide optimized information or services to users based on their locations and preferences because of the tracking function in the mobile device (Junglas & Watson 2008). According to Scharl et al. (2005) customers increasingly expect location-‐based services, since they offer customized information based on their current location. Therefore, it could be that location-‐based services are widely considered as the ‘killer application’ of mobile commerce (Yonos et al., 2003). This means that this application is that attractive to people that they will buy a mobile device to make use of the service. In other words, location-‐based services add so much value for the customer that they buy a device where the application is running on. If location-‐based services have that much value for the customer, it can be assumed that when a brand offers location-‐based services that this will have a positive influence on the brand equity.

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The combination of providing the consumers relevant and personal information, based on their location in a specific shopping context is a unique feature of mobile marketing and is only possible in location-‐based services. Since localization is seen as the killer-‐application in mobile commerce and that it has a positive influence on the perceived value of customers it will be assumed that location-‐based services have a positive influence on the brand equity.

Hypothesis 2: The degree of localization in mobile marketing has a positive influence on the brand equity.

2.4.3 Personalization

One of the other unique characteristics of mobile marketing is the fact that the mobile device is highly personal and rarely used by anyone except its owner (Bauer et al., 2005). Because of this personal character marketers get the opportunity for one-‐to-‐one marketing based on the collected information from the customers about demographics (e.g. income), user preferences (e.g. preferred product), context (e.g. location and user activities) and content (Shanker et al., 2010; Xu, 2007). The personal character of the mobile device makes the degree to which personalization is possible unique in mobile marketing.

Robins (2003) found that customers were happy to receive promotional messages as long as they are personalized and relevant. Hence, the unique feature of mobile marketing, personalization, allow brands to make the promotional messages personal and relevant and therefore directly influence the brand equity. This is possible as a consequence of the opportunity for marketers to collect the personal information from highly personal device. When the marketing message is personal and relevant, this can create value for the customers, which consequently influence the brand equity. Besides that, Scharl et al. (2005) found that a personal message increases the impact of the customer attention. When the impact of a marketing message increases the attention, you can assume that this will increase the brand awareness and brand associations.

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mobile marketing, since it enables marketers to reach customers in very individual ways. A good relationship between customer and brand creates value for the customer and therefore has a positive influence on the brand equity.

Additionally, previous research by Xu (2007) found that personalized offerings lead to positive consumer attitudes toward a brand. Thus, personalization leads to improved relationships between customer and brand and leads also to positive attitudes towards a brand. Moreover, the degree of personalization in mobile marketing allows brands to be more relevant in the communication with customers. This means again that in this way value will be created for the customer and therefore it will be assumed that personalization in mobile marketing has a positive influence on the brand equity.

Hypothesis 3: The degree of personalization in mobile marketing has a positive influence on the brand equity.

2.4.4 Interactivity

The fourth unique characteristic of mobile marketing that is taken into account is interactivity. The mobile devices allow for a greater two-‐way communication than any other tool because of their permanent connectivity and short set up times (Schierholz et al., 2007). The permanent connectivity, described earlier at the unique feature ubiquity, together with the short time that is required to transfer the message to the other party, ensures that communication between the brand and consumer is much more convenient and flexible compared to other channels (Sinisalo et al., 2007). This means that especially the degree of interactivity possibilities is unique in mobile marketing. The mobile device can therefore be seen as an ideal medium for handling customer service issues. In a research about mobile marketing in the retailing environment, Shankar et al. (2010) indicated that retailers offer services as online order tracking, answer to customer queries regarding product information, bill-‐payment, and after sales services through the mobile device.

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When the relationships with the customers can be improved through increased and flexible interactivity between the brand and customer, you can say that value is created for the customer. Therefore, it will be assumed that interactivity in mobile marketing will have a positive influence on the brand equity.

Hypothesis 4: The degree of interactivity in mobile marketing has a positive influence on the brand equity.

2.4.5 Enjoyment

Enjoyment is the last attribute of mobile marketing that is distinguished. Enjoyment in mobile marketing can be described as the extent to which the activity of using the technology is seen as enjoyable in its own right, apart from any performance consequences that may be anticipated (Nysveen et al., 2005). Nysveen et al. (2005) found in their research about the intention to use mobile chat services, that enjoyment may be a particular strong determinant in the adoption of the mobile chat service. In the context of mobile marketing it is therefore reasonable to assume that customers perceive enjoyment while they are using for example an application and that in this way it creates value for the customer. In the research of Ko et al. (2009) a positive relationship was found between enjoyment and the perceived value in mobile shopping. Therefore, this research assumes that value is created for the customer while one is perceiving enjoyment when technology that is applied for mobile marketing is used. This assumption is underlined by the research of Cyr et al. (2006) that found a positive relationship between enjoyment and the loyalty in m-‐commerce. Also in the research of Wang & Li (2012), empirical evidence was found for a positive relationship between the perceived enjoyment and the brand equity for the mobile value-‐added service providers. Hence, the degree of enjoyment perceived by customers is unique in mobile marketing, this will have a direct influence on the brand value. Therefore also a positive relationship between the enjoyment perceived in mobile marketing and the components brand equity will be assumed.

Hypothesis 5: The degree of enjoyment in mobile marketing has a positive influence on the brand equity.

2.4.6 Usage frequency

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and marketing activities on the brand equity (Simon and Sullivan, 1993; Yoo et al., 2000). However, this only makes sense if the customer is exposed by the advertising and marketing activities. Therefore it will be assumed that when a customer’s usage frequency of a branded app increases, the impact of the marketing efforts on the brand equity will also increase. In other words, the usage frequency of a branded app moderates the effect of the features of mobile marketing on the brand equity. This is not only because of an increase in the interaction between brand and customer, but also because when one of the value-‐added services of mobile marketing is used more often, probably more value is created for the customer. Noteworthy is that with branded apps the customers control how much information they reveal by the usage frequency of the app and therefore how much they are exposed to the mobile marketing efforts (Bellman et al., 2011). Therefore, it will be assumed that the degree, in which value is created for the customer by mobile marketing, depends from the usage frequency of the branded app by the customer. Hence, the following hypotheses are formulated:

Hypothesis 6a: The influence of ubiquity on brand equity is stronger when the usage frequency is higher

Hypothesis 6b: The influence of localization on brand equity is stronger when the usage frequency is higher

Hypothesis 6c: The influence of personalization on brand equity is stronger when the usage frequency is higher

Hypothesis 6d: The influence of interactivity on brand equity is stronger when the usage frequency is higher

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2.5 Conceptual model

Figure 2: Conceptual model

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3. RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design constitutes the framework for the collection, measurement and analysis of data (Cooper & Schindler, 2006). In this chapter, first the choice of the research method and data collection will be discussed. In conclusion, this chapter will end with a plan about how the data will be analyzed.

3.1 Research method

In order to investigate the influence of the different characteristics of mobile marketing on brand equity, the previous section formulated several hypotheses. Subsequently, a conclusive research design is used to test these hypotheses. A conclusive research is based on large representative samples and the data is subjected to quantitative analysis. The findings from this type of research are considered to be conclusive in nature in that they are used as input into managerial decision-‐making. This design is chosen because this type of research is used when specific hypotheses and examined relationships must be tested (Malhotra, 2010). There are two different types of conclusive research designs: a descriptive research design and a causal research design. A descriptive research is conducted to determine the degree to which marketing variables are associated, while a causal research is used to obtain evidence of cause-‐and-‐effect relationships with manipulated independent variables in a controlled environment (Malthotra, 2010). In this research a descriptive research design will be used, because this research wants to determine the degree to which marketing variables are associated. In other words, this study wants to find out to what degree brand equity can be explained by the different features of mobile marketing. Moreover, this research will be applied to a real-‐life case in which no variables are manipulated for which a descriptive research design is most appropriate. If an experiment was used, in which other possible causal factors could be eliminated, then a casual research design was most appropriate.

“How to maximize the impact of mobile marketing?”